I think the presentation on Tuesday was a success... more or less. I was a little disappointed that the majority of my spectators were vegetarians, it made my meal a bit of a bust, but I'm glad Arthur's dad liked them.
I feel like I've really learned a lot, maybe my presentation didn't show it but that's just because I get so flustered up there, I just forget everything. I learned a ton of simple Russian survival phrases and dinner manners but I completely forgot to hit on the way to order. UGH! Spasibo Day-tree mne pelmeni >> may I have some pelemeni. I also learned a lot of Russian dishes, I'll probably end up making ploshka sometime this summer, and really I am interested in visiting sometime. At least I would be if it wasn't so cold all the time.
Demonstrating what I have learned has been a problem from the beginning. I know the words and I know I've learned a lot but I don't really want to stand up there are rattle off a bunch of phrases so I don't and it looks like I've learned nothing. Quite a conundrum. I feel that if you talked to David he would tell you I was speaking it well, even if my vocabulary was somewhat lacking. I think I learned to speak it so well because I heard it in all the music and movies I listened to and watched. Even if I couldn't really understand the words I could hear the sounds and then mimic them.
As much as it pains me to say this I really would deny future independent studiers the option of studying a foreign language, I just don't see it as feasible. The distractions are too many and the rewards to few for a foreign language study to be done independently.
The most difficult part of this study for me was that I never really knew how well I was doing. I learned words but I could never really use them, I learned phrases but I had no idea if they were colloquial speech or cave-man talk. I guess thats the way it always is though, you never know how well you are speaking until you actually go to the country and speak to the natives.
On the presentation itself I really think I deserve no more than a B. I think I showed that I had learned a little but I did a bad job of showing that I had learned a lot. On the study itself I really can't say. I wish I had focused my study earlier, I wish I had bought a workbook earlier... I guess the study of studying would be an A. It was a lot harder this semester than last semester because I was less interested in this study but I think it was good practice for all of the things I will be forced to study in college.
I'd like to thank you for these last two years, you've been a really great teacher and have made me into a much better writer than I could ever imagine. Creative writing was a blast, both times, and my independent studies were fruitful because of your flexibility and help. Here's a link to my most recent bit of writing: http://jeremiahtaylor.blogspot.com/
Have a nice summer break and hopefully my brother will get a teacher as good as you when he goes through high school, he sure needs one.
on to new and different things,
Ben
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Though I would like to be able to conjugate Russian verbs on my own the simple fact is that it is really hard to do and has been very time consuming up until now.
Thankfully the endless world wide web has supplied me with yet another tool to aid in my studies.
http://www.freetranslation.paralink.com/#
This is a free translator that includes in it a stickies like program that will actually say the word that is typed in. I showed this site to Arthur too since it includes a chinese translator as well.
Thankfully the endless world wide web has supplied me with yet another tool to aid in my studies.
http://www.freetranslation.paralink.com/#
This is a free translator that includes in it a stickies like program that will actually say the word that is typed in. I showed this site to Arthur too since it includes a chinese translator as well.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
A long time in the making:
So its been eons since my last update but I assure you I've been working harder than
ever.
With the computer labs and library closed I've found it harder to update my blog but infinitely easier to study without the distractions of the world wide web. I've spent most of my time perfecting my greetings and polite phrases and working on translating my dinner speech thing. That has been going a bit slowly due to the lack of internet resources but it is still moving along.
Here are a couple of recipes I've found, including the "authentic" russian deviled eggs recipe.
Description
Eggs are considered the best item for breakfast and for appetizers. But it is not easy to diversify the dishes with them. This one is very good and rich dish. It is easy to make, but looks and tastes exclusively.
Method
Cut eggs in halves, take yolks out. Blend yolks with butter, greens, salt and cream.. Put the filling back into the halves. Put two halves together like a whole egg, sprinkle with cheese and butter. Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes. Before serving pour mayonnaise over and decorate with greens.
Ingredients
# 8 ea eggs hard boiled.
# 3 tb parsley and dill finely chopped.
# 1/2 c cream.
# 1/2 c cheese ground.
# 3 tb butter.
# mayonnaise.
# salt, greens.
-------------------------------------
Description
Stuffed tomatoes is a great attractive appetizer. The only shortcoming is that it takes time to make it, but perfect taste and guests' approval will compensate your work.
Method
Wash tomatoes, cut off the tops and take out the flesh. Combine peas, grated apples and carrots, chopped egg whites with mayonnaise, season to taste. Stuff tomatoes with the filling and put on large dishes. Place a lettuce leaf under every tomato and sprinkle the tope with grated yolks.
Ingredients
# 3 kg strong equal tomatoes.
# 400 g peas.
# 2 ea boiled carrots.
# 3 ea lightly salted cucumbers.
# 3 ea apples.
# 250 g mayonnaise.
# 2 ea hard boiled eggs.
# lettuce leaves.
# pepper.
# salt.
--------------------------------------------
Description
Cheboureki are small fried pies with meat filling. It is a Caucasian dish. Russian peopl love cheboureki especially with a bottle of beer.
Method
Grind beef and pork twice in a mincer. Then add finely chopped onion, salt, pepper. To make mincemeat more tender and juicy, add mayonnaise. Stir very well and knead with hands. Reserve.
Mix flour with eggs and milk, salt and oil until a soft dough forms. Knead on floured surface until dough is elastic. Take some dough and make a "sausage" (1 inch in diameter). Divide into pieces (1 inch thick). Roll each piece so that they are 1/16 inch thick. Take a little plate ( 4 inches in diameter) and make rounds with it's help on the dough. Fill each round with the mincemeat evenly, fold into half-moons. Pinch edges together and connect the opposite sides. Pour oil into the pan and heat up. Put two Cheboureki on the pan at a time and fry until golden brown on the average heat on two sides.
Cheboureki are served with beer.
Ingredients
# 2 c flour (more if needed for stiff dough).
# 1 c milk.
# 1/2 ts salt.
# 2 tb vegetable oil.
# 2 ea eggs.
# 1 c beef.
# 1 c pork.
# 1 ea small onion.
# 3 tb mayonnaise.
# salt and pepper to taste.
# oil to fry.
ever.
With the computer labs and library closed I've found it harder to update my blog but infinitely easier to study without the distractions of the world wide web. I've spent most of my time perfecting my greetings and polite phrases and working on translating my dinner speech thing. That has been going a bit slowly due to the lack of internet resources but it is still moving along.
Here are a couple of recipes I've found, including the "authentic" russian deviled eggs recipe.
Description
Eggs are considered the best item for breakfast and for appetizers. But it is not easy to diversify the dishes with them. This one is very good and rich dish. It is easy to make, but looks and tastes exclusively.
Method
Cut eggs in halves, take yolks out. Blend yolks with butter, greens, salt and cream.. Put the filling back into the halves. Put two halves together like a whole egg, sprinkle with cheese and butter. Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes. Before serving pour mayonnaise over and decorate with greens.
Ingredients
# 8 ea eggs hard boiled.
# 3 tb parsley and dill finely chopped.
# 1/2 c cream.
# 1/2 c cheese ground.
# 3 tb butter.
# mayonnaise.
# salt, greens.
-------------------------------------
Description
Stuffed tomatoes is a great attractive appetizer. The only shortcoming is that it takes time to make it, but perfect taste and guests' approval will compensate your work.
Method
Wash tomatoes, cut off the tops and take out the flesh. Combine peas, grated apples and carrots, chopped egg whites with mayonnaise, season to taste. Stuff tomatoes with the filling and put on large dishes. Place a lettuce leaf under every tomato and sprinkle the tope with grated yolks.
Ingredients
# 3 kg strong equal tomatoes.
# 400 g peas.
# 2 ea boiled carrots.
# 3 ea lightly salted cucumbers.
# 3 ea apples.
# 250 g mayonnaise.
# 2 ea hard boiled eggs.
# lettuce leaves.
# pepper.
# salt.
--------------------------------------------
Description
Cheboureki are small fried pies with meat filling. It is a Caucasian dish. Russian peopl love cheboureki especially with a bottle of beer.
Method
Grind beef and pork twice in a mincer. Then add finely chopped onion, salt, pepper. To make mincemeat more tender and juicy, add mayonnaise. Stir very well and knead with hands. Reserve.
Mix flour with eggs and milk, salt and oil until a soft dough forms. Knead on floured surface until dough is elastic. Take some dough and make a "sausage" (1 inch in diameter). Divide into pieces (1 inch thick). Roll each piece so that they are 1/16 inch thick. Take a little plate ( 4 inches in diameter) and make rounds with it's help on the dough. Fill each round with the mincemeat evenly, fold into half-moons. Pinch edges together and connect the opposite sides. Pour oil into the pan and heat up. Put two Cheboureki on the pan at a time and fry until golden brown on the average heat on two sides.
Cheboureki are served with beer.
Ingredients
# 2 c flour (more if needed for stiff dough).
# 1 c milk.
# 1/2 ts salt.
# 2 tb vegetable oil.
# 2 ea eggs.
# 1 c beef.
# 1 c pork.
# 1 ea small onion.
# 3 tb mayonnaise.
# salt and pepper to taste.
# oil to fry.
Monday, April 27, 2009
The Final Countdown:
Alright, I've only got three weeks left. Which means I've got to start focusing on my final presentation.
I'm working on a speech, a pretty lengthy one at that, and i'm continuing to look through Russian recipes too and i think I'm going to be able to make quite a meal.
As far as when and where we have the presentation I only have one opinion; that it be later in the afternoon. If I'm going to make food I'm going to need an hour or two (or three) to prepare it and everything. Hannah also mentioned that its her birthday on the 19th so we might have to push the date for the presentation up to Monday. I have no problem with that and neither does Arthur. Or I guess the other option is that Hannah does hers another time, there's no reason to rush her i guess.
We'll discuss it more later I suppose.
Only three weeks left!
I'm working on a speech, a pretty lengthy one at that, and i'm continuing to look through Russian recipes too and i think I'm going to be able to make quite a meal.
As far as when and where we have the presentation I only have one opinion; that it be later in the afternoon. If I'm going to make food I'm going to need an hour or two (or three) to prepare it and everything. Hannah also mentioned that its her birthday on the 19th so we might have to push the date for the presentation up to Monday. I have no problem with that and neither does Arthur. Or I guess the other option is that Hannah does hers another time, there's no reason to rush her i guess.
We'll discuss it more later I suppose.
Only three weeks left!
Monday, April 20, 2009
Over the Weekend:
Over the weekend I decided to spring for a Russian book. It's supposed to teach Russian in ten minutes a day but I don't know how it expects me to do that. You could read the lesson once in ten minutes but to really learn it takes a great deal of time. On Sunday, while procrastinating other homework I went ahead and started on that. I seems pretty fun but I suppose I'll spend my presentation time telling all the details.
Forgot my IPOD today! Major disaster!
Forgot my IPOD today! Major disaster!
Friday, April 17, 2009
The First Week Back:
Its been a pretty busy week back. The internet was down on Monday, as you well know, so I just spent the time reviewing through my audio lessons and looking over the notes I took during my tutoring session. Tuesday everything was up and running so I checked out
my Russian websites since I was disconnected from the internet since last Friday. Sadly Spoonfed Russian is still not updating as Nadia, its author, is focusing more on her own studies, thats alright though, there are plenty of lessons that I haven't even looked at yet. Sadly, I spent the whole day reviewing and completely forgot that I was supposed to present on the Tuesday, I don't even know how, after doing it every week for the entire semester. Anyway, Wednesday I spent feeling bad and working extra hard. I spent lots of the time researching Russian cuisine and restaurants in Russia. It turns out that the only good Russian restaurants serve foreign food. All the forums I've read said you can either get cheap, awful, native food or expensive, good foreign food. Thats a little disappointing, seeing as how I wanted to make Russian food for my final. I think I can do it. The Forums said that Russians bury the taste of their awful food in vodka but i figure if I just make the Russian food well we won't have to do that. Thursday and I was back to the Ipod lessons, alot of the ones I listened to upodated over the break so I downloaded those and listened to them. I might have to be a little more selective in the future though, my Ipod is rapidly filling up. Today, I tried to think of a lesson to do with David but its pretty hard to think of a lesson he can do on the go.
my Russian websites since I was disconnected from the internet since last Friday. Sadly Spoonfed Russian is still not updating as Nadia, its author, is focusing more on her own studies, thats alright though, there are plenty of lessons that I haven't even looked at yet. Sadly, I spent the whole day reviewing and completely forgot that I was supposed to present on the Tuesday, I don't even know how, after doing it every week for the entire semester. Anyway, Wednesday I spent feeling bad and working extra hard. I spent lots of the time researching Russian cuisine and restaurants in Russia. It turns out that the only good Russian restaurants serve foreign food. All the forums I've read said you can either get cheap, awful, native food or expensive, good foreign food. Thats a little disappointing, seeing as how I wanted to make Russian food for my final. I think I can do it. The Forums said that Russians bury the taste of their awful food in vodka but i figure if I just make the Russian food well we won't have to do that. Thursday and I was back to the Ipod lessons, alot of the ones I listened to upodated over the break so I downloaded those and listened to them. I might have to be a little more selective in the future though, my Ipod is rapidly filling up. Today, I tried to think of a lesson to do with David but its pretty hard to think of a lesson he can do on the go.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Tutoring, sort of:
I talked with David today. He seems like an upstanding kind of guy. He's no teacher sure but he does know Russian and more importantly he knows how Russian is spoken in Russia. He corrected me on some of my phrases, which he said could be construed as rude or childish and gave me the phrase he would use instead. I only talked for about ten minutes but I dunno, I didn't really know what to say and he sounded like he was doing something when I called so...eh.
Next time I call I'll make sure to have a lesson or questions prepared so I don't just awkwardly babble into the phone. I guess I'm just nervous.
Anyways.
It was a great experience and I really like the idea of getting help with my Russian from a native speaker not just a teacher or a audio program. I guess I'll start preparing for the week after spring break.
Next time I call I'll make sure to have a lesson or questions prepared so I don't just awkwardly babble into the phone. I guess I'm just nervous.
Anyways.
It was a great experience and I really like the idea of getting help with my Russian from a native speaker not just a teacher or a audio program. I guess I'll start preparing for the week after spring break.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
More interactions with David:
David hasn't e-mailed me back so I guess that means he is okay with me calling him tomorrow. I hope at least. I spent today going over pronunciations again. Lots of freshmen have been in the library being incredibly loud as they goof off and do nothing so thats been a bit of a setback, hopefully they will be gone by tomorrow.
If they're not I guess I can always go to an industrial plant, it'd be quieter than this.
If they're not I guess I can always go to an industrial plant, it'd be quieter than this.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Interactions with David:
This is the e-mail I sent David Monday:
David,
My name is Ben Wertz. I am a student of Cara Cassel, and am studying
Russian independently to earn a final foreign language credit. So far
my studies have been limited to a number of free teaching sites and
audio lessons.
Since I only have a semester to pursue the Russian language I've
limited myself to verbal Russian and more narrowly to the language
necessary to greet a server and then order food in a restaurant.
Since I cannot pay you I assure you that your part in my studies will
be as unobtrusive to you as possible. I do feel that I would benefit
greatly from having a native speaker critique my pronunciations from
time to time and make sure that I have not learned a manner of
speaking that is either too formal or too informal.
Please reply when you get this so we can set up a time later in the
week to have a fifteen or twenty minute conversation, nothing major.
Just a short conversation to see how my basic greetings are.
I look forward to your reply,
--Ben
And heres the reply I got back on today (Tuesday):
Hi Ben, Cara told me about you and your problem , I am willing to help as much as I can . Feel free to call me at Cell ***-***-**** or Home ***-***-****
Thanks David
I am going to send him another e-mail telling him I plan on calling on Thursday around 1:30. I'm probably building this up more than I should but I would really like to be prepared for my first tutoring session, such as it is. This is as far as I'd like to put it off so I can have time to study what he told me on Friday and over the break. I have no doubts that my studies will decrease over the break but I will still do my best to squeeze some sessions in.
David,
My name is Ben Wertz. I am a student of Cara Cassel, and am studying
Russian independently to earn a final foreign language credit. So far
my studies have been limited to a number of free teaching sites and
audio lessons.
Since I only have a semester to pursue the Russian language I've
limited myself to verbal Russian and more narrowly to the language
necessary to greet a server and then order food in a restaurant.
Since I cannot pay you I assure you that your part in my studies will
be as unobtrusive to you as possible. I do feel that I would benefit
greatly from having a native speaker critique my pronunciations from
time to time and make sure that I have not learned a manner of
speaking that is either too formal or too informal.
Please reply when you get this so we can set up a time later in the
week to have a fifteen or twenty minute conversation, nothing major.
Just a short conversation to see how my basic greetings are.
I look forward to your reply,
--Ben
And heres the reply I got back on today (Tuesday):
Hi Ben, Cara told me about you and your problem , I am willing to help as much as I can . Feel free to call me at Cell ***-***-**** or Home ***-***-****
Thanks David
I am going to send him another e-mail telling him I plan on calling on Thursday around 1:30. I'm probably building this up more than I should but I would really like to be prepared for my first tutoring session, such as it is. This is as far as I'd like to put it off so I can have time to study what he told me on Friday and over the break. I have no doubts that my studies will decrease over the break but I will still do my best to squeeze some sessions in.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Spoonful of Russian
I'm going back through through the Spoonful of Russian Lessons and doing a sort of review on the stuff I've learned through other sources so I don't embarrass myself too badly during my first phone conversation thingy. This also gives me an opportunity to see how another person pronounces the words I've already learned. The site itself is very helpful, it allows me to follow along with the lesson. Though I've focused on learning Russian by ear, Spoonful of Russian has alot of videos, one for every letter I think, to help my learn how to read. I haven't tried them yet because I'm not sure if I have time this semester to have a comprehensive understanding of both the spoken and written language, so I think I'll focus on the spoken for now.
I've thought of what I think is a pretty good idea for my final too. I plan on making a meal, or at least a bunch of samples, of authentic Russian food. I'll then name the food, in Russian, and be able to go through the routine of ordering each of the dishes in Russian and understanding the servers questions and answers. What do you think?
I've thought of what I think is a pretty good idea for my final too. I plan on making a meal, or at least a bunch of samples, of authentic Russian food. I'll then name the food, in Russian, and be able to go through the routine of ordering each of the dishes in Russian and understanding the servers questions and answers. What do you think?
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Today in Russian:
I spent today listens to the Spoonful of Russian again. They have a conversation between a server and a restaurant client that I am trying to learn. Its a very long and involved conversation but I guess its a good introduction to the kind of banter I can expect when ordering food.
The entire conversation is on the web so I was hoping I could try it with my tutor person. If that works out I suppose.
The entire conversation is on the web so I was hoping I could try it with my tutor person. If that works out I suppose.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Possibly the best site:
Spoonfullofrussian.com!
Its amazing, its an american teaching russian with tons of verbal lessons paired with pictures and words. It's a real find.
Its amazing, its an american teaching russian with tons of verbal lessons paired with pictures and words. It's a real find.
Learning about Russian food
I've spent much of this week looking up all the different kinds of food. Its no good to know how to order food if you don't know what the Russian dishes are.
Here are a couple I've Googled the recipes for:
bleeni s eekroy ... pancakes with caviar > potato pancakes with caviar
bleeni sa smeetanay ... pancakes with sour cream > potato pancakes with sour cream
borshch ... borshch > a beet soup
akroshkoo ... okroshka > a cold greens-based soup
aseetreenoo pa rooskee ... poached sturgeon with tomato sauce and vegetables
pel'menee ... pelmeni
Pelmeni sounds especially good. Its a sort of mincemeat ravioli deal, it sounds really good.
I've also looked up a lot of badly translated Russian dishes from the Ruscusine website (www.ruscusine.com). I found this recipe for for Zebra cake that sounds so easy I might have to make it for you guys.
I've learned that the majority of Russian dishes are high is protein and simple carbohydrates. I guess the cold kind of made that cusine evolove. Lots of potato dishes. I mean LOTS.
Here are a couple I've Googled the recipes for:
bleeni s eekroy ... pancakes with caviar > potato pancakes with caviar
bleeni sa smeetanay ... pancakes with sour cream > potato pancakes with sour cream
borshch ... borshch > a beet soup
akroshkoo ... okroshka > a cold greens-based soup
aseetreenoo pa rooskee ... poached sturgeon with tomato sauce and vegetables
pel'menee ... pelmeni
Pelmeni sounds especially good. Its a sort of mincemeat ravioli deal, it sounds really good.
I've also looked up a lot of badly translated Russian dishes from the Ruscusine website (www.ruscusine.com). I found this recipe for for Zebra cake that sounds so easy I might have to make it for you guys.
I've learned that the majority of Russian dishes are high is protein and simple carbohydrates. I guess the cold kind of made that cusine evolove. Lots of potato dishes. I mean LOTS.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Midterm
I spent much of this week working on my midterm project thing as pathetic as that is. I really am no good with powerpoint. Then on Wednesday I went to the bodies exhibit so I didn't study that day either. Its really bad to skip days according to the sites I've looked at, they say you've really got to do it everyday for at least an hour to get the stuff memorized. I've been pretty good about that up until this week, even getting in some time over the weekend, but this week it all just fell apart. We've got a long weekend coming up though and I've got the rest of today to get on course so I think I should be alright.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Another update:
I've found a new russian program. Its amazing how many of those programs are free right off of the Itunes store. Other than that I've been spending my time listening constantly, its probably the most use I've ever gotten out of my Ipod.
I hope the weekly presentations are showing my advancement because other than those I am having trouble thinking of ways of proving how hard I'm working at this. Please tell me if you have any ideas and feel free to ask for a peek at my Ipod if you want to see what I'm listening to.
I'm also having trouble thinking of a midterm presentation... I guess I could do a power point but i would really like to do something more auditory. I've got a while to figure out though.
I hope the weekly presentations are showing my advancement because other than those I am having trouble thinking of ways of proving how hard I'm working at this. Please tell me if you have any ideas and feel free to ask for a peek at my Ipod if you want to see what I'm listening to.
I'm also having trouble thinking of a midterm presentation... I guess I could do a power point but i would really like to do something more auditory. I've got a while to figure out though.
Friday, February 20, 2009
New Technology
I downloaded 24 lessons of RussanPod and all ten episodes of oneminuteRussian and they have been a godsend. I can listen to them all the time and then just repeat what they say. I kind of use them as background noise the same way I used to use the TV. I can do other homework and just let the pronunciations and meanings sink in. The one-minute-Russian lessons are very basic but the Russian Pod lessons are a lot more in depth. The only problem I have with RussianPod is that its kind of a conversation between two people, which would be good to simulate conversations, except these two appear to be flirting a lot... which makes it a very strange listen.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
I found a table on russian verbs:
| TENSE AND ASPECT | USAGE | EXAMPLE SENTENCES |
| PAST TENSE, IMPERFECTIVE ASPECT | Used to designate an action that began and ended at a particular time in the past; the result is not important for the speaker | Вчера вечером он читал книгу. |
| | Used for an action that occurred over period of time but was completed in the past; the action, not duration, is emphasized | Он плавал в бассейне весь день. |
| | Used for an activity that took place regularly in the past | Во время каникул мы ходили в кино каждое утро. |
| | Used for actions occurred over period of time simultaneously but were completed in the past | Когда я читал книгу, брат смотрел телевизор. |
| | Used when the result of an action is nullified, i.e. an opposite action occurred | В комнате холодно, потому что я открывал окно. (i.e. открыл и закрыл) |
| | Used for an action that occurred over period of time but was completed in the past. The duration is emphasized | Он строил дом целый месяц. |
| PAST TENSE, PERFECTIVE ASPECT | Used to emphasize the result of an action that began and ended at a particular time in the past | Вчера вечером я прочитал книгу от начала до конца. |
| | Used for a past action that had a result before another past action that also had a result | Когда мы пришли в класс, учитель уже ушёл домой. Мы успели сыграть партию в шахматы до того, как пришёл Андрей. |
| | Used when the result of an action remains | Он надел новую рубашку. (i.e. он надел и сейчас она надета) |
| | Used to designate an action that began and ended at a particular time in the past; the time during which the result was achieved is emphasized | Он построил дом за месяц. |
| PRESENT TENSE, IMPERFECTIVE ASPECT | Used for a present state of affairs | Андрей живёт в Москве. |
| | Used for a general fact | Волга впадает в Каспийское море. Солнце встаёт на востоке. |
| | Used for habitual actions | Каждое утро он читает газеты. |
| | Used for future timetables and arrangements | Поезд отходит в 12:00. Решено. Мы идём в кино. |
| | Used for a specific action that is occurring | На улице идёт сильный дождь. |
| | Used for an activity that takes place over period of time specified | Они играют в теннис уже 2 часа. |
| FUTURE TENSE, IMPERFECTIVE ASPECT | Used for an action that will be ongoing or repeating at a particular time in the future, but it is not known whether will be finished of not | Завтра утром я буду играть в теннис. Вечером она будет готовить ужин. |
| FUTURE TENSE, PERFECTIVE ASPECT | Used for an action that will be finished at a particular time in the future | Скоро он узнает хорошие новости. Вечером она приготовит ужин. |
http://masterrussian.com/blverbtable.shtml
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Bibliography:
Figured I should get this posted instead of just leaving it on a piece of paper in my folder:
http://listen2russian.com/menu/index.html
http://www.uni.edu/becker/Russian2.html
http://learnrussian.elanguageschool.net/course/view.php?id=3
http://masterrussian.com/
http://www.russianlessons.net/
http://russian.speak7.com/
http://listen2russian.com/menu/index.html
http://www.uni.edu/becker/Russian2.html
http://learnrussian.elanguageschool.net/course/view.php?id=3
http://masterrussian.com/
http://www.russianlessons.net/
http://russian.speak7.com/
Complied knowledge
This is the information that I've compiled so far on pronouns and conjugations. The conjugation stuff I've found has me assured that I am speaking like a cave man in Russian. My pronunciations are dead on to my knowledge, though.
Definitions
Verbs are action words, they are things you can do. For example: run, walk, love, eat, want.
Pronouns are words that can replace names. For example: I, you, he, she, him, her, it.
In the sentence "I love him". "love" is the verb. The subject is "I", and the object is "him".
Russian Pronouns
Here are the Russian pronouns that can be used as the subject of a sentence. (Known as the nominative case.)
Я - "ya" - I
Ты - "Teh" - You (informal)
Он - "on/un" - He, It (m)
Она - "ahna/unu" - She, It (f)
Оно - It (n)
Мы - We
Вы - You (formal, or plural)
Они - They
Вы is used as the formal singular "you", and the plural "you" (slang: "yous" or "you all") when talking to more than one person.
Here are the Russian pronouns that can be used as the object of a sentence. (Known as the accusative case)
Меня - Me
Тебя - You (informal)
Его - ("yevo") - Him, It (m,n)
Её - Her, It (f)
Нас - Us
Вас - You (formal, or plural)
Их - Them
You should be familiar with using different pronouns for the subject and object of a sentence ("me" instead of "I"). Just remember that unlike English,Russian uses an extra version of the word "you". You should memorise these pronouns.
Russian Verbs
You will be pleased to know that Russian has only one present tense. In Russian there is only one way of saying "I work", "I am working" and "I do work".
Russian verbs change their endings depending on the subject. This happens a little in English, but not as much. (Example: I work, he works). This happens according to two different patterns known as the first conjugation, and the second conjugation. (There are also some irregular verbs). Both these patterns are quite similar, and once you get the hang of it, it is not too difficult.
The first conjugation
The first conjugation is used for verbs ending in "ть" but not "ить". It is the most common.
To form the verb for each person you need to drop the last two letters of the infinitive (normally "ть"), and add the appropriate ending ("ю", "ешь", "ет", "ем", "ете" or "ют").Let’s take a look at a verb that uses the first conjugation: работать (to work).
The second conjugation
Verbs where the infinitive ends in "ить" use the second conjugation.
Now we will introduce some verbs from the second conjugation. There are also some other verbs that use this conjugation.
The second conjugation uses the endings "ю" (or "у") "ишь" "ит" "им" "ите" "ят" (or "ат"), which replace "ить".
Note 1: The second conjugation is affected by the spelling rules.
Note 2: The first person singuar is affected by the rule of consonant mutation. Remember, this only applies to the first-person singular (Я).
Definitions
Verbs are action words, they are things you can do. For example: run, walk, love, eat, want.
Pronouns are words that can replace names. For example: I, you, he, she, him, her, it.
In the sentence "I love him". "love" is the verb. The subject is "I", and the object is "him".
Russian Pronouns
Here are the Russian pronouns that can be used as the subject of a sentence. (Known as the nominative case.)
Я - "ya" - I
Ты - "Teh" - You (informal)
Он - "on/un" - He, It (m)
Она - "ahna/unu" - She, It (f)
Оно - It (n)
Мы - We
Вы - You (formal, or plural)
Они - They
Вы is used as the formal singular "you", and the plural "you" (slang: "yous" or "you all") when talking to more than one person.
Here are the Russian pronouns that can be used as the object of a sentence. (Known as the accusative case)
Меня - Me
Тебя - You (informal)
Его - ("yevo") - Him, It (m,n)
Её - Her, It (f)
Нас - Us
Вас - You (formal, or plural)
Их - Them
You should be familiar with using different pronouns for the subject and object of a sentence ("me" instead of "I"). Just remember that unlike English,Russian uses an extra version of the word "you". You should memorise these pronouns.
Russian Verbs
You will be pleased to know that Russian has only one present tense. In Russian there is only one way of saying "I work", "I am working" and "I do work".
Russian verbs change their endings depending on the subject. This happens a little in English, but not as much. (Example: I work, he works). This happens according to two different patterns known as the first conjugation, and the second conjugation. (There are also some irregular verbs). Both these patterns are quite similar, and once you get the hang of it, it is not too difficult.
The first conjugation
The first conjugation is used for verbs ending in "ть" but not "ить". It is the most common.
To form the verb for each person you need to drop the last two letters of the infinitive (normally "ть"), and add the appropriate ending ("ю", "ешь", "ет", "ем", "ете" or "ют").Let’s take a look at a verb that uses the first conjugation: работать (to work).
The second conjugation
Verbs where the infinitive ends in "ить" use the second conjugation.
Now we will introduce some verbs from the second conjugation. There are also some other verbs that use this conjugation.
The second conjugation uses the endings "ю" (or "у") "ишь" "ит" "им" "ите" "ят" (or "ат"), which replace "ить".
Note 1: The second conjugation is affected by the spelling rules.
Note 2: The first person singuar is affected by the rule of consonant mutation. Remember, this only applies to the first-person singular (Я).
Here are some of the words I've learned...
| Yes Да dah | No Нет Nyet | Maybe Может быть moh-zhit bit' |
| Hello Здравствуйте zdrav-stvooy-tye | Hi Привет preev-yet | Good Day Добрый День doh-bry dzyen' |
| Good Afternoon Добрый День doh-bry dzyen' | Good Night Добрый Вечер doh-bry vyecher | Good Bye (General Use) До свидания duh-svee-dah-nya |
| See You (will see them in a short while) Пока pah-kah | Farewell (don't know when you'll see them next) Прощай proh-shchai | See you tomorrow До завтра dah zav-trah |
| Please/You're Welcome Пожалуйста poh-zhahl-stah | Thank You Спасибо spah-see-bah | Sorry Простите proh-stee-tye |
| Welcome Добро Пожаловать dah-broh poh-zhahl-oh-vat' | How are you doing? Как дела? kahk dze-la? | Okay, Alright Ладно Lahd-nah |
| Excellent Хорошо Khah-rah-sho | (Not) bad (Не)плохо (neh)ploh-khah |
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Concrete Evidence
I think its a great idea to keep tab on how much I'm really achieving just to help me stay on track and keep you in the loop. I've thought about this problem and I think I've come up with a pretty good idea. Every week I'll come in with a little "culture project." This will be a short speech, probably only about four or five sentences, using the words I know and have learned over the week of study. I'll conjugate most of the sentences myself beforehand and try to memorize everything so I can say it all from memory though I might need some written prompts to help me remember. I'm not sure how to prove that I'm studying, BYKI does have a grade sheet of sorts of how much I've got right and stuff like that, I'll try to print it out if i can but if I can't I hope these little projects will prove how hard I've been studying.
I also thought it might be good to memorize Russian idioms or sayings so the first project might be a collection of those.
I hope you agree with this idea and I look forward to sharing next Tuesday.
I also thought it might be good to memorize Russian idioms or sayings so the first project might be a collection of those.
I hope you agree with this idea and I look forward to sharing next Tuesday.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Update: 2
I've printed out more information on conjugating words and have thrown some pronouns into my studies. I'm having a little trouble because the pronoun site gave me letters to translate instead of sounds to emulate but I think I can sort of get the just of the pronouns from the movies I watched.
Work work work.
Work work work.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Update: 1
A slight problem with the BYKI software has limited much of my work to home so I've spent more of my time in class focusing on creating sentences on my own, conjucating my own words and stuff, and spending time at home working on pronunciation and memorizing phrases. Learning primarily through verbal techniques means I have to memorize alot more which poses a little of a problem, seeing as how I'm not so good at memorizing. The learning site I looked on said I could fix that by building every lesson on things I already know so every time I go over the same flashcards, faster than before, before going on to new ones. Its a slow process but I suppose its working.
Ms. Boswell says the BYKI should be ready on the school computer pretty soon so things might speed up after that.
See you tomorrow
Ms. Boswell says the BYKI should be ready on the school computer pretty soon so things might speed up after that.
See you tomorrow
Friday, January 16, 2009
Step one
I've taken extensive notes on the consonant and vowel sounds as well as the multiple word cases. The written word of Russian is quite a serious undertaking though and I will keep it secondary to my learning of the spoken tongue.
I've found that there are numerous free websites that have alot to offer someone trying to learn russian and I even found a downladable flash card program with many of the simple words spoken aloud so that I can memorize them and then practice conjugating them.
I also looked into a site that tells how to learn foreign languages in general and they recommended listening to the language in the form of movies or music. The reasoning behind this is that movies and music offer a snippet of the colloquial language so the learner will have less of an accent when he/she begins speaking it.
All in all, I'm pretty excited.
I've found that there are numerous free websites that have alot to offer someone trying to learn russian and I even found a downladable flash card program with many of the simple words spoken aloud so that I can memorize them and then practice conjugating them.
I also looked into a site that tells how to learn foreign languages in general and they recommended listening to the language in the form of movies or music. The reasoning behind this is that movies and music offer a snippet of the colloquial language so the learner will have less of an accent when he/she begins speaking it.
All in all, I'm pretty excited.
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